Start of Time
by wstrnplsr105
Summary: Because there's three stages of love, and maybe Charlotte knows a little more about them then she realized.


**Hey again! So it's only been a little over a week since my last one but...guys...season 3. It is the best. Only two episodes in and it's already inspiring so many ideas. I started this one within a few hours of Love Muffin's premiere but then left it unfinished until today. This ending was NOT what I had originally planned, as I usually only do individual one-shots. However, when I was re-reading what I already had earlier and decided to try and finish it, it hit me out of nowhere how I wanted it to play out. So, before y'all read it and start throwing stuff, I DO plan on a sequel for this (it will be a separate one-shot though). I think I'm going to wait until the new episode airs this Saturday and take that and do the sequel, but if I get hit with inspiration before then I will go ahead and go for it.**

 **But anyways, thank you guys SO much for all the reviews and kind words because honestly, I've been so stressed lately and reading them makes me smile so much to the point where I literally want to cry because y'all are so freakin' wonderful.**

 **Okay so with all that sappy stuff outta the way, I really hope you guys like this one! Let me know whatcha think!**

 **(Wait, crap, I forgot one more thing! The title comes from my main song for this one, Start of Time by Gabrielle Aplin., which is where the lyrics at the beginning come from.)**

* * *

 _"When you walked into the room just then, it's like the sun came out."_

Well this has been one _weird_ day.

First, Charlotte gets woken up in the middle of the night to meet some random chick that is now Ray's fiancée after only knowing her from three hours.

Then, thanks to random chick actually being a criminal who knows how to jack up banana nut muffins with love ( _literally_ ), Henry falls in love with Jasper.

(They all seem to have a silent mutual agreement to _never_ talk about that forty-nine minutes of pure _weird_.)

But, because she's Charlotte and she's the smart, rational, logical one of the group, she quickly figures out the solution to the problem.

Because if anyone knows science, _it's Charlotte._

Fast forward to Jasper and Henry's _brilliant_ (-ly painful to watch) plan which involved Henry insulting Ray to the point of being tossed around like a rag doll.

But hey, it actually worked and that's more than Charlotte expected.

(Cause honestly, how often do the guys' plans _actually_ work out?)

But after everything is said and done (and random chick gets away due to her knowledge of Henry and Ray's identities), everything goes back to normal.

(Well, as normal as things can be around here.)

She doesn't even realize that she's been staring until Ray speaks up.

"Hey, kid, you alright?"

Henry looks up from his position (which looks incredibly awkward and uncomfortable from where Charlotte is standing) on the couch and nods.

"Yeah, I'm fine."

"You sure?"

"Yeah." He repeats with his usual laid back grin.

"Sorry again, I-"

"Ray, it's _fine_." The blonde assures, not fully convincing the older brunette who shrugs anyway.

"Alright." Ray nods before heading towards the tubes, "I'm gonna head out for a little bit, you guys good?"

"Yeah, we're good." Charlotte speaks up.

"Don't take any more muffins from strange women!" Henry calls from the couch, a slight smirk on his face as Ray huffs.

"Hey, you ate one too!"

"You ate one first!"

"Did no-" Ray stops, "You know what, that doesn't matter!"

"Okay, you two…" Charlotte interrupts as usual, "Ray, just be careful."

"I know, I know." He mutters with a pout before being pulled up through the tube.

She waits until he's gone before turning to Henry.

"You."

He looks up, eyes wide.

"Me?"

"Get up."

"Why?" He asks, watching as she walks over to where Schwoz keeps his various gadgets.

"Don't question me, just get up."

"What if I don't want to?" He challenges and she turns around, one eyebrow raised and that's all it takes.

"Yes ma'am."

He grimaces as he pushes himself into a standing position, trying not to make it obvious that he has to be supported by the couch partially. He notices her pulling out the familiar table and device and starts shaking his head.

"Char, I'm fi-"

"Shut up, take off your shirt and get on the table."

"Take off my shirt?"

" _You know what I mean."_

He sighs in defeat, removing his outer plaid shirt to leave himself in his gray t-shirt before pulling himself onto the gray table and easing his body down until he is lying down. Charlotte makes sure the scanner is connected to the computer before turning to face the blonde.

"What if Ray comes back or Jasper or Schwoz cause I really am fine-"

"You know Ray is gone for at least a few hours, Jasper is upstairs, and Schwoz is out…" she trails off, her face scrunching up, "..doing whatever Schwozs do."

"Char, I'm f-"

"You got thrown against the elevator, tossed on the floor several times, and flipped over agai-"

"I know, but-"

"-And _almost_ shot-"

"-but I didn't-"

"Henry Hart, shut up and lay down so I can see if anything's broken or I swear I will knock you out with this scanner."

His eyes widen a little again, this time in fear, as he obeys.

"You're mean."

She rolls her eyes at his childish tone and starts running the scanner over his head, glancing back at the computer screen displaying his skull on the screen.

"That's so weird."

" _Sit still._ "

She doesn't see any signs of major damage, so she moves to his neck and shoulders. She peers closer at the screen, a little unsure at first but ultimately doesn't see any damage there either. She stops when she reaches his torso, freezing over his stomach. He watches as her eyebrows furrow, brown eyes focusing hard on the screen. She moves the scanner to his right side, right above his ribs, and he tries not to curse under his breath.

He notices her hand shaking a little bit as she continues glancing between the scanner and the screen, eyes becoming more and more worried with each second. He knows about what that area of his torso looks like in person, he had already seen it earlier in the bathroom mirror after the whole fiasco with the muffins and Gwen had ended. He's so deep in thought with what to say that he doesn't notice her setting down the scanner and reaching for his shirt until it's too late.

"Char-"

She pulls his t-shirt up to expose the rapidly swelling area stretching several inches across his side, the skin an angry red with an underlying bluish tone.

He hears her sharp intake of breath as she stares at the injury, and he does the only thing he knows to do.

"Impressive abs, right? Part of being a superhero-"

He stops when her eyes meet his and he thinks he sees underlying tears before she looks away.

"Char-"

She shakes her head just enough for him to notice as she pulls his shirt back down and continues with the scanner.

He doesn't like her being quiet like this. He knows her, and knows when she's upset, so he tries to come up with something, anything, to make it better.

"So how does that whole love muffin thing work anyway?"

At first, he doesn't think she's going to speak at all for the rest of the day, but she sighs quietly after several seconds.

"There's a combination of several different chemicals released during the three stages of love."

"The three stages of love?"

(He's not sure if that's an actual thing or not, so he waits for her to explain.)

She rolls her eyes in typical Charlotte fashion before launching into the complex world of science.

"It was proposed by Helen Fisher of Rutgers University. She claims that there are three stages of love- lust, attraction, and attachment. In the first stage, lust, testosterone and oestrogen are released. In the second stage, attraction, is where the neurotransmitters come in: adrenaline, dopamine, and serotonin. The last stage, attachment, releases oxytocin and vasopressin."

"So which one did Gwen use?" Henry questions as Charlotte begins scanning over his legs, focusing on his ankle that she noticed him limping on earlier.

"I'm not sure exactly." She admits, glancing at the screen absentmindedly, "I'm leaning towards the neurotransmitters, but that's just a guess."

"Because it took over the brain?" He guesses, earning a shrug in return.

"Kind of. More because of what the neurotransmitters actually do."

"What do you mean?"

"Well," she runs the scanner over his ankle again, pursing her lips in thought for a moment before continuing, "Adrenaline is the first one you experience when you really start falling in love. You start sweating, your pulse races, your mouth goes dry…"

"It feels like you're sky diving, but…" He trails off, glancing at Charlotte with a faint smile, "better."

She meets his gaze before looking back at his ankle.

"Yeah."

"So what about the other two? Dop-"

"Dopamine is the 'desire and reward' chemical. It triggers a rush of pleasure when you see that person, in theory. Fisher claimed that the couples she examined often showed increased energy, less need for sleep and food, and just being focused on the relationship."

"And serotonin?"

"Serotonin basically diverts your mind. It makes you think about that person a lot." She explains as she turns off the scanner and sets it aside.

"So you think she used a combination of all three?" He starts to sit up on his elbows, only to wince and lay back down.

"It makes sense." She replies as she holds out her hand for him to grip.

She helps him ease himself into a sitting position, and waits until he's comfortable to turn the computer screen to face him.

"Nothing's broken, but your ankle is sprained and your ribs are bruised." Her eyes drift down his torso, right where the throbbing pain in, and he has to force himself to breathe normally and smile.

"Thank you, Dr. Charlotte." He teases with a chuckle, earning a smile from her before it drops and she turns away to start putting away the equipment. He watches, thinking of what to say as he slides off the table as gently as he can. She turns at his audible gasp of pain before she hurries over to the auto-snacker and places her hand on the screen.

"One bag of ice."

The machine repeats her, a small bag of ice popping out a few seconds later. She grabs it, walking over to the couch and motioning for him to follow. She helps him sit down, handing him the ice pack before turning to walk away.

He quickly reaches out, grabbing her wrist to stop her. She turns halfway, not fully looking at him to his disappointment.

"Charlotte."

"I would ice your ribs before your ankle, they're going to hurt worse-"

" _Charlotte._ "

She fully faces him and the tears from earlier are more visible now. She looks away, clearing her throat as she refuses to look at him. He gently uses his grip on her wrist to pull her around to where he is sitting on the edge of the couch.

"Charlotte, I'm fine."

"No, you're _not_."

He tries, failing again, to catch her eye, before he pushes himself up until he's standing in front of her. His hand slides under her chin and then her watery eyes are looking up at him.

"Nothing's broken, it's just a couple of bruises-"

"It doesn't matter." She shakes her head furiously, "You got hurt and he could've…"

She doesn't finish that sentence that they both know the end to and Henry feels droplets of water hitting his palm as she looks down.

"Char…" His voice breaks at the end at the sight and he instinctively pulls her into his chest, wrapping his arms around her. She gently slides her arms up around his neck rather than his torso, and she buries her head into his chest as his head rests on top of hers.

They're holding each other, just standing in the middle of the Man Cave alone, when she murmurs something into his chest and his heart stops.

He pulls back suddenly, brown eyes wide and mouth open in shock.

" _What?"_

Her eyes are wide in a mixture panic and realization as her mouth opens and closes repeatedly.

"Ummm."

"Did you just-"

"No!" She quickly denies, pulling away from him as he swears her cheeks turn a deep red, "I didn't say anything!"

"It sounded like-"

"Nothing! I said nothing!"

"-you said you lov-"

"I've gotta go!" She blurts out, grabbing her phone from the table and hurrying towards the tubes.

"Charlotte wa-"

"Up the tube!"

Then she's gone and he's alone in the middle of the Man Cave with his head spinning and his heart pounding and-

 _Charlotte just said she loves him._


End file.
